TRENTON — Upset that crime is on the rise in his West Ward neighborhood and that his tax bill is following suit, local pub owner Sherwood Brown decided to run for election May 13 as the representative for the city’s West Ward, going up against the incumbent, Councilman Zachary Chester.

Brown, who also works as the building manager for the Princeton Public Library, said he is not happy with the way Chester has served the West Ward in the past four years, so he threw his hat in the ring for a chance to address the ward’s problems himself.

“I think I would certainly try to figure out different ways of trying to generate money,” Brown said. “I’m not exactly sure what those things would be, but I would sit down and look at things a little differently because I’m an outsider right now.”

Brown and Chester, who will face off in the May 13 election, have differing views on the best ways to serve the communities, although both pinpoint crime and revenue generation as important facets of those plans.

Brown, who has lived in the city for nearly 30 years raising his three children, said he would rely on strategies for creating revenue that have worked in other urban areas throughout the country.

He said in Savannah, Ga., where his wife is from, the city has seen a resurgence thanks in part to college growth in that area. He said the city could start by asking more outside schools to establish operations in Trenton, such as The College of New Jersey did this year with a location on South Broad Street.

“Everybody is looking for new ways to expand and Trenton offers some of the best values in town,” Brown said.

Brown, 57, noted that the schools usually hire private security, so that, too, would cut down on some of the public safety concerns in the area.

A self-described “grassroots” person, Brown said he is out on the streets talking to people about what really matters to them and what is going on in the city.

As the owner of Benny’s Bar on Olden Avenue, Brown, like other business owners, said he has felt the impact of high crime.

“Business was good for years but people aren’t going to come out here when people are getting shot,” he said.

To cut down on crime, Brown said he would support starting a vocational program in the city.

Chester, too, supports job training program and said it would be helpful for attracting development to Trenton to have trained, skilled laborers working in the city.

“That is something I would hope that, with the new administration coming in, that the city would be a part of that program,” Chester said, suggesting possibly using Community Development Block Grant funds to support the idea.

Chester, a 44-year-old who works as the government liaison officer for Hurricane Sandy recovery for the American Red Cross, said he also hopes to work with the new mayor to address public safety concerns in the West Ward.

He said he supported the police director’s move in December 2012 to reopen the West Ward precinct, but is concerned because the precinct is not always staffed.

He wants to work with the police director to help residents come forward with tips for the crime prevention effort.

“I think part of coming to a solution is you have to engage the community,” Chester said. “If people don’t feel safe providing information, somehow we have to find a way to make them feel safe.”

Chester said in the past four years he is proud of the work that he and the budget committee have done scrutinizing the budget in line-by-line reviews with department directors.

“Prior administrations did not have budget hearings like we have budget hearings,” Chester said. “I think we have set a precedent as to how future councils will deal with the budget.”

But with the corruption in City Hall under former Mayor Tony Mack, Chester said he was distracted from many of the things he sought to accomplish when he was elected.

As for alternate sources of revenue, Chester said he has a few ideas such as charging landlords to take down abandoned buildings. The city could use the revenue to fund infrastructure improvements.

The city also could do its own towing and use the revenue without having to go to the taxpayers, he said.